Decluttering is one thing; how do you keep the clutter gone?

[snow addict]

Yeah, putting everything right away never worked for me. I just de-clutter from time to time but clutter keeps coming back. Last week I went through paper clutter and got rid of most of it, and couple weeks ago I checked kitchen cabinets and also got rid of some stuff to make space. Donated my bread-maker which was fun to use from time to time, but not often enough to make it worth keeping. Also did a cheeky thing - waited when there was room in the bicycle storage (when people were at work) and took my bike there - there is no assigned space and it works on 'first come - first served' basis, so I reckon it's somebody else's turn to keep their bikes in the hallway Not sure how long this would last as I have a bike trip planned next weekend, but it's nice not to have it in the flat for a while.

 

[snow addict]

Every shop here that sells electronic equipment, computers and household appliances is obliged to take the said equipment for recycling, free of charge, no matter where/when it was bought. Already took my PS2 with 6 (where they came from as I only remember ever buying 2 ??) controllers for recycling. Basement is my next project - I have a huge standing fan there that doesn't get used - it's old and noisy, has been donated once but came back to me, old hi-fi with speakers and couple old laptops that are next for recycling. This should free some space - probably for another pair of skis ))

 

[Jenny]

Thanks to @bounceswoosh I was inspired. Finished copying all the pages of recipes and stuff in had accumulated into the Paprika app. And then took all the pages, paper scraps, etc. with book titles on them and entered them into the Good Reads want-to-read list. That's alot of paper going right into the recycling bin now, and some space cleared out.

Baby steps.

 

[mustski]

My living room is full of fabric. But, I can't put any of it away because I am still deciding what patterns go best with the base fabrics.

 

[surfsnowgirl]

Erp. One of these days I need to go through our piles of computer equipment in the basement. Much of it is empty or near-empty cases, and hard drives we hadn't gotten around to smashing.

We need a computer graveyard also. DH has lots of computer things in our office, no basement. We've done a bit of hard drive smashing over the years but still have a plethora of chords, keyboards, other devices of sorts, boxes and what not that aren't hard drives but are connectivity ports, a bunch of junk to me. I would love to just pitch it all.

 

[bounceswoosh]

We need a computer graveyard also. DH has lots of computer things in our office, no basement. We've done a bit of hard drive smashing over the years but still have a plethora of chords, keyboards, other devices of sorts, boxes and what not that aren't hard drives but are connectivity ports, a bunch of junk to me. I would love to just pitch it all.

There's an ecocycle center near here .. some of these items would cost a few dollars, but I think it would be worth it.

For cables and even some bigger items, Best Buy will recycle whatever you bring. They have some typical trash can type bins at the front of our local store, but I told them I needed MOAR and they brought out a few wider bins for my crap. I figure, as much money as I've (over) spent at Best Buy over the years ...

 

[WaterGirl]

Following the KonMari magic of tidying up, collected all loose change (including DH's bucket of coins) and found enough $$$ to pay for his new snowboard boots
According to the book, "change" should go back into your wallet, and not be left in a piggy bank where it is ignored......

 

[bounceswoosh]

Following the KonMari magic of tidying up, collected all loose change (including DH's bucket of coins) and found enough $$$ to pay for his new snowboard boots
According to the book, "change" should go back into your wallet, and not be left in a piggy bank where it is ignored......

I bet the book says great things about letting change accumulate in the bottom of your purse until you start noticing that it's heavier than it should be ...

 

[santacruz skier]

I'm with you. I know part of our problem is that DH won't put anything other than dishes/glasses/silverware away because he "doesn't know where it goes". So pots and pans and tupperware gets spread all over the counter until I put it away. (And it's gone in the same couple of cupboards for almost 10 years, but no amount of explaining that will convince him that he knows where it goes...)

And I'm with you on the paperwork - there are plenty of things that if I file them or put them out of sight - I'll be searching for them for an eternity. Stuff like concert tickets and car registration paperwork and that kind of thing that I still need. They live on our bar and I'm afraid I'll forget about them if they go out of sight.

Why do men claim they don't know where things go?

 

[bounceswoosh]

Update: Our stairs have remained decluttered, but the kitchen bar that I so painstakingly cleared is just as much of a disaster area now as it was before =/ Decluttering feels like yoyo dieting.

 

[snow addict]

I just de-clutter from time to time - trying to do it more often now but I have given up trying to keep it gone permanently. I think I achieved some peace of mind now

 

[alicie]

I've just de cluttered the kitchen and I ended up with 6 50l bin bags. That was mainly from the cupboards. I found out of date food from 2009, at least it was all cupboard food.

My room is for tomorrow and then I've got to shift a desk downstairs, at least its ikea so I can shift it myself. And then I need to rearrange the other furniture in my room.

Then all that's left is 3 hall/landing cupboards and a bathroom cabinet and then the house is completely decluttered.

 

[tinymoose]

Update: Our stairs have remained decluttered, but the kitchen bar that I so painstakingly cleared is just as much of a disaster area now as it was before =/ Decluttering feels like yoyo dieting.

This is a perfect description of how I feel about decluttering...

 

[MaineSkiLady]

A radical but effective methodology I often wind up using: painting the room or replacing the flooring, both of which require room-emptying. A pretty solid guarantee that the former complete contents of that room will not find a way back into that room. Although I think the clutter-sorting and disposal take up more time than the actual painting or floor install! Bottom line: it works for me.

 

[alicie]

I've decluttered my room. I ended up with 9 bin bags of useless junk, which are now at the tip. It needs a really good Hoover now. I don't think I've ever seen so much dust in my life, I ended up using marigolds as everything was so dusty. I only ever use my bed in my room whilst I'm asleep so dust just collects everywhere else and I'm really not good at regular hoovering. I'm shifting everything around so I'll have to hoover everywhere.

I think the key to no more clutter is don't buy useless stuff. And have half yearly clear outs where if you haven't used it in the last year get rid of it useless it's important.

 

[tinymoose]

I'm bumming it today. Doing some cleaning and laundry, trying to declutter. I've got 3-4 bags of clothes and shoes to go to goodwill, and I still feel like I have too much crap (specifically sweaters and maybe ski gear). Or maybe I don't have enough storage. Yeah, that's it.

 

[Jilly]

That's me too. I found out about a program called "Teens on Edge" that gets teens interested in skiing. So far they have quite a bit of stuff from my closet including my Attraxion 8's. And it's looking good for a second bag. Add in a bag for "goodwill", and I can see spaces!

 

[WaterGirl]

It took me Friday afternoon and all day Saturday to "Konmari" our seasonal rental.
New this year so needed to take inventory. Went thru linens, kitchen drawers and cupboards, cleaning supplies / laundry etc.
While I can't "donate or toss" most of the stuff, luckily I had enough room to stuff all the junk I didn't want in the back of cupboards and closets.
So much nicer organized!

 

[MaineSkiLady]

Must have been a wardrobe changeover/weed-it-out weekend for many. I did the same, have lots to move out of here, feels good to see some "space." Now if I only could convince "other family members" to do same....